AKRON, Ohio — After Akron Police shot and killed Jayland Walker in late June, several activist groups, including the Akron NAACP, came together to create plans for a citizen police oversight board.
The groups were able to collect enough signatures to get the initiative on this Novembers ballot, where it will appear as Issue 10.
Judi Hill, the president of the Akron NAACP, said that the goal of this initiative is to help prevent interactions between police and citizens like the one that ended Walker’s life.
“We need to know that the city can move forward,” Hill said. “In order to keep something like this from happening again, we can put something in place. So together, we can help improve community police relationships.”
Hill said getting the initiative on the ballot was just the beginning and activists in Akron still have a lot of work to do.
“So we are going to our neighbors and we are talking to our friends and our community groups and we are saying, ‘hey, we want Issue 10 to pass,’” Hill said. “We are going to be going door-to-door, doing some door knocking. We are going to have events.”
Hill said one of the busiest days for the Akron NAACP will actually be Election Day. The organization plans to provide transportation to and from the polls.
“So we will serve as like the Uber. Individuals will call into the office, we will find out their information. I will contact a driver, a driver will then be assigned to the person,” she said. “We would, literally would say you can look for a vehicle this color and they will pull up. Please be prepared at the time you are assigned.”
